Is getting your teeth cleaned suppose to hurt like hell and make you bleed like crazy?

Question

So its been a long time, about 4 years since getting my teeth cleaned and now that I have insurance I decided to finally get it done. The dental hygienist was checking my teeth and told me I needed to floss more often. Then she took a little hook looking thingy with a really sharp end and started scraping the ends of my gum. It hurt like crazy!!! Not to mention all the blood I was tasting and seeing on her glove. And thats ALL she did!! From what I remember in the past, they used flouride trays to clean my teeth and polish. Isn't that what they're suppose to do?? Please correct me if I'm wrong but I don't ever want to get my teeth cleaned!! That was couple days ago and it still bleeds and hurts when I brush my teeth. I never thought getting your teeth cleaned would be a painful experience. Is this normal???

Answer 1

I am a hygienist and I would first like to state that we do not enjoy making people bleed or causing any discomfort.
With that said, I would like to clarify for you some of the other responses you are getting.
Yes, 4 years is too long to wait to have your teeth cleaned. Routinely it should be done every 6 months. What happens is that the soft plaque on your teeth continuously builds up, this is why you need to brush and floss. When it mixes with the calcium in your saliva, then it turns hard and adheres to the side of your tooth (like barnacle on a boat). This is called calculus or commonly known as tarter, it is hard piece of bacteria.
Tarter irritates the gums (like a pebble in your shoe) and it sends your brain a message to send your blood cells to that area to help kill the bacteria, but it gets trapped, causing inflammation which is red swollen gums. When you have your teeth cleaned, removing the irritation (tarter) actually "uncorks" the build up of blood and it flushes out of the sulcus (area between tooth and gum). THink of it as getting a splinter in your finger and leaving it in for 4 years, it gets swollen and inflamed and infected, then you try to remove the splinter, yes it is going to bleed and hurt like hell, but after your body heals, it will get better!!! If you get another splinter and remove it right away, it is quick, easy, minimal pain and your fine...right? THink of your teeth and gums this way. Keeping up with your cleanings will make your gums healthier and prevents you to have a more difficult cleaning like you just had.
It is actually a healthy thing to have that blood flushed out, but you don't want to have it build up to begin with and that is where brushing and flossing come into place.
Now, if you maintain good home care and go every 6 months for a cleaning, you will most likely have a fairly easy experience. If you prolong it, you end up causing gum disease in the form of periodontitis, which the bone is being damaged by the bacteria. What you have right now is gingivitis, which is inflammation of the gums, with a good cleaning and good home care, that will be reversed, but if let go, then it will develop into periodontits and that is not reversable. Keep in mind that gum disease is directly linked to heart disease, evidence to pancreatic cancer and even alzheimer's.. My motto is when did your mouth become separate from your body.
To also comment, I would stick with a hygienist to have your cleanings with. Nothing personal to the dentists, but we have much more training that they do when it comes to hygiene and tend to be more thorough. This is our specialty. If scaling under the gum line is needed, it is because we have to remove the tarter, not because we like to hurt.
I recommend to use an electric toothbrush, they force you to brush for 2 mins. and they are 90% more effective than a regualr brush. Brush 2-3x a day and floss every day. If you feel you are still have inflammation and bleeding issues, your hygienist can recommend an antimicrobial mouth rinse to help.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I'm 18 years old and I went 18 years without ever having my teeth cleaned. Yes, never ever.
I went my first time in April and had a basic cleaning and it hurt, but I had a lot of topical anesthetic on my gums to reduce discomfort.i had a cut gingivitis in the front portion of my mouth and there was plenty of blood.

Today I had my 2nd cleaning and it was nearly painless during it. However, it is sore for me to chew now and I'm assuming it will be for a few days.

All this to say, yes it is normal. I had minimal bleeding the 2nd time. Make sure to brush at least twice a day and floss once. I skip sometimes, and that's probably why i had slight bleeding.

Fix it now or it'll hurt more later and might even cost extra moneh

Answer 4

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The cleaning would hurt if your gums are inflamed and irritated because of plaque at and under the gums. If you do not clean all the plaque off of your teeth (which is near impossible with the regular toothbrushes) then over time they build up into hard substances under your gum line. When you then go to get a cleaning, (If cleaned properly), which means that the Dr. or hygienist is cleaning that off properly, it would bleed. If you begin to take better care of these areas that is being missed then the bleeding stops. The two scenarios are that either, the person before was not cleaning below the gum line like they should, or the new person was not angling the instruments properly which was cutting your gums while they were cleaning. It is hard to say since I cant see what was actually being done, but next time you could ask to see what is being scraped off. If there is a lot of plaque and calculus under the gums thy could show you what is coming off of your teeth. If there is nothing to show and your gums are not puffy at all then the angle is wrong.. If she can show you stuff coming off, then your gums were inflamed and is normal to hurt.

Answer 5

I get my teeth cleaned regularly like your supposed to and I brush twice or sometimes 3 times a day where I can. I also floss. And the hygenist that does my teeth was far too rough with my teeth. According to the hygentist and my past dental experience getting my teeth cleaned, I have never bled from it. But the hygenist I've been having has been so rough with them that they bleed every time. But if someone else cleans them, my gums do not bleed and I have a good experience.

Answer 6

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RE:
Is getting your teeth cleaned suppose to hurt like hell and make you bleed like crazy?
So its been a long time, about 4 years since getting my teeth cleaned and now that I have insurance I decided to finally get it done. The dental hygienist was checking my teeth and told me I needed to floss more often. Then she took a little hook looking thingy with a really sharp end and started...

Answer 7

I think cleaning your gums and getting rid if the plague will definately hurt . But not knowing of the facts well that it will hurt like hell will makes things worse. Its the role of dentist to ensure they explain the procedure well and why it is necessary to scrape off well. That will motivate patients to go for the pain even though it hurts.
Also yes after a long time cleaning it will hurt and the second time u will get more used to it.
But ti maintain dental health and care its necessary to go throe this procedure even if ita painful. I had anesthetic and injections first time cleaning aa gums were really swollen srcond time tried without anesthetic it eventually got better .so following a good hygeine routine if brushing 2 times a day for 2 minutes and flossing once before bed should do the betterment and healing :)
Especially before bed is a must !
There should be leaflets on too more info about before the appointment so patients come mentally prepared.
:)

Answer 8

Rest assured. In 6 months, you will NOT have the same experience. PLEASE go back in 6 months! I am a dental hygienist and I can answer this for you. The reason why you were bleeding and had some discomfort is that because it's been 4 years since your last professional cleaning, you had massive amounts of tartar and plaque build up above your gums, under your gums, and in between all of your teeth. Depending on your daily home care and oral hygiene (how thoroughly and how often you floss all of your teeth, how detailed you brush your teeth and gums) and your immune system, you most likely have some form of gum disease at this point. In the very least you had gingivitis. The thorough cleaning treats both gingivitis and gum disease, but what you do at home matters so much. Your hygienist removed the hard deposits (tartar build up) with the "hook like scraper" you described, which is the only way it is going to come off. It grows back because of saliva and the food you eat and depending on how often you floss all of your teeth. That's why it's important to go to the dentist at least every 6 months to have it removed again. I'm so sorry that you were in discomfort, trust me, we don't want any of our patients to be in pain. We hate that! Honestly, flossing at least once a day, and brushing at least twice a day using an electric tooth brush will greatly improve the health of your gums. She actually wasn't scraping your gums, she was scraping your teeth. Because of the gingivitis and/or gum disease, the gums are swollen and unhealthy. Healthy gums don't bleed. Fluoride treatments are not cleaning your teeth. They are a preventive therapy to help prevent cavities. Fluoride is the active ingredient in your toothpaste, but in very small potency. The fluoride at the dentist is a prescription strength. You can ask for a fluoride treatment at any time you are at the dentist, but most insurance companies will only pay for it for children up to a certain age. That is probably why you didn't have fluoride. The polish part of the appointment is only removing soft plaque and maybe some stain you may have on your teeth. Depending on how thorough she was with the cleaning, and how much time she had left in your appointment, that's why you didn't get a polish. To me it sounds like you should have had a two-stage cleaning, which insurance doesn't cover most of the time, due to the large large amounts of tartar you may have had in the last 4 years. I hope your mouth feels better. Please give her another chance in 6 months! You won't have nearly the amount of tartar build up in 6 months as you did in 4 years! Promise!!

Answer 9

If you don't have particularly good dental hygene, that may be the problem. Flossing and brushing regularly can make your gums stronger and less likely to bleed. That may be why she said you weren't flossing enough. However, I brush and floss to the point that my family members think I'm crazy, and I still bled at the dentist. He was very rude about it as well. Said i didn't floss. I told him I did and he didn't believe me. Some dentists aren't very gentle when cleaning teeth. The sharp hooky thing is for scraping plaque off your teeth and most dentists do it. Next time, let the dentist know beforehand that you have sensitive gums. And go to a different dentist next time. Except for the one horrid dentist, all my dentist visits have been fine and never hurt.

Answer 10

You can probably lessen the bleeding now and in the future by taking 500 mg of Vitamin C a day (for at least the week preceding the cleaning).

I am good about getting my teeth cleaned once or twice a year (usually twice). Still, I could not tolerate the sonic cleaning one dental hygienist tried to give me. It was much worse than the scraping. In the meantime, get some Sensodyne toothpaste and use mouthwash twice a day - not just any mouthwash, but Listerine (30 seconds) once and Biotene anti-plaque (30 seconds). Floss every day if you can, but you can also use a Waterpik (they make a cordless model), which you might tolerate better. Use a soft toothbrush.
Some dentists and hygienists are just making it painful. I haven't had a Fluoride tray since I was in my childhood.

Answer 11

my best friend is in dental hygeine school and she cleaned my teeth and the same thing happened. That hook is used to scrape calculus (sp) off of your teeth which is a plaque build up... i think. because of all the scraping, touching and moving around in there your blood vessels swell up and then it doesnt take hardly anything at all to make them bleed. I know this sounds crazy but you actually want them to use that hook the best they can otherwise your teeth are going to decay faster. Think of it this way: if the hygienist is nice on your teeth she may not be getting them as clean as she can and a root canal is going to hurt alot worse than a cleaning.